Doctor Who, the longest-running science fiction show in the history of television, is a UK sci-fi show involving a time-traveling alien. The show ran for twenty-six seasons between 1963 and 1989. Following a sixteen year hiatus broken only by a American-made television movie, the show resumed production in 2005, on its 27th season, billed as series 1.

Contents

Premise

The title character, known only as "The Doctor", is a time lord, originating from the planet Gallifrey. Once a high-ranking member of his society, the Doctor has at various times been fugitive from his own people, the saviour of them, and, as of the 2005 revival, the sole surviving member of the time lord species. Prior the the series, the Doctor, disenchanted with the other time lords, stole an aging type 40 TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) time machine from a repair bay on Gallifrey and packed his granddaughter Susan off to Earth. Susan and the Doctor eventually parted ways, and her place was filled with other "companions" - essentially people he picks up to join him on his travels.

The Doctor spends his time interfering with various cultures and fighting injustice, while occasionally encountering and doing battle with enemies such as the robotic space mutant daleks and the evil cybernetic cybermen.

A significant element of the series, enabling it to continue as long as it has, is the concept of "regeneration". Time lords are capable of regenerating their bodies upon death, taking a new face and personality every time while still remaining essentially the same person. This allowed BBC to continue the show, even when starring actor decide to leave. After the first few seasons, the the First Doctor (played by actor William Hartnell) was killed off and regenerated into the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton). As of 2014, the role is held by Peter Capaldi, portraying the Twelfth Doctor.

After being put on "indefinite hiatus" at the conclusion of its 26th season, starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, the show was resurrected in 2005 with some development funding provided by CBC. The Sci Fi Channel aired the first season of the new format of Doctor Who a year later.